IRVING, Texas — The Big 12 Conference released its 2024-25 preseason poll and preseason honors on Thursday morning, with BYU picked to finish 12th in the 16-team conference.
Kansas State's Ayoka Lee was selected as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year while Baylor's Aaronette Vonleh and TCU's Hailey Van Lith were honored as the Preseason Co-Newcomers of the Year. Colorado's Tabitha Beston was voted as the conference's Preseason Freshman of the Year.
Kansas State (211 points) edged out Iowa State (209 points) for the conference's top spot as the Wildcats garnered seven of the 16 first-place votes while the Cyclones earned six. K-State and Iowa State each advanced to the round of 32 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Baylor (194 points) was picked to finish third in the Big 12 and received two first-place votes while TCU (185 points) came in fourth. West Virginia (184 points) is slotted fifth despite receiving one first-place vote.
The Bears made a run to the Sweet 16 last season before losing to top-seeded USC by four. The Mountaineers advanced to the Round of 32 before falling to Caitlin Clark and the No. 1 seed Iowa Hawkeyes last season.
Utah (149 points), who made a run to the Round of 32 last season, are picked to finish sixth with Arizona (136 points) picked to finish seventh. Kansas (128 points) and Colorado (113 points) come in at the eighth and ninth spots, respectively, with Texas Tech (84 points) rounding out the top 10.
Oklahoma State (80 points) was selected to finish 11th, one spot ahead of BYU (59 points), who came in the 12th spot. Cincinnati (56 points) was picked 13th, UCF (54 points) in 14th, Arizona State (51 points) in 15th and Houston (27 points) rounds out the poll in 16th.
BYU head coach Amber Whiting, in her third season at the helm, returns just six players from a season ago while adding five freshmen and four transfers to her 2024-25 roster
“This team is going to look a lot different than last season, not just with the players on the floor, but also the way we play,” Whiting said. “The Big 12 Conference is stacked top-to-bottom with talented, veteran teams that will demand us to play our very best, night in and night out. I'm optimistic about the strides my women have taken throughout summer workouts and now in practice, and I’m excited to see what they can do when we take the floor next month."
Despite losing its two leading scorers Lauren Gustin (graduation) and Kailey Woolston (LDS mission) from a year ago, BYU returns three players in Amari Whiting, Emma Calvert and Lauren Davenport who each started at least 10 games last season. The Cougars reloaded with four transfers: Kemery (Martín) Congdon from Cal, Marya Hudgins from Santa Clara, Hattie Ogden from Buffalo and Kendra Gillispie from Arkansas State. Arielle Mackey-Williams, who was a big piece of Whiting's first team in 2022-23, will return for the 2024-25 season after missing last season with a knee injury.
Whiting also brings in a highly-touted group of freshmen led by Delaney Gibb who is the 77th-ranked player in ESPN's 2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. Gibb is joined by two-time Idaho 4A Player of the Year Brinley Cannon, three-time Utah 6A state champions Sarah Bartholomew and Naia Tanuvasa and Idaho 5A All-State honoree Kambree Barber.
BYU will host Westminster College for an exhibition matchup on Oct. 29th before opening the season against the Idaho Vandals on, Nov. 6.